Travel after 50 is very special...Planning is key! If we don't plan, we are going nowhere...fast! Live your Dreams..make them your reality! Photos are the best souvenir from any trip...take lots..I hope you enjoy every moment.

Sugaring Old Fashioned Pansies from the Splendid Seed Savers in Iowa

Old Fashioned Pansies come with many surprises....fragrance, abundance and resilience! I LOVE these Pansies, they are "The Historic Pansies Mix" from SeedSavers.com

Gorgeous Pansies- Love the colors and of course the Frangrance

They are amazing and have been blooming for months...I even found a newly opened seed pod to try for next season.

I LOVE finding Seeds!! I am a Seed Saver!

Yesterday, I was determined to save the last few blooms for sugaring-as I realized the summer had gone by, I had meant to sugar those pansies every time I saw and breathed in their fragrance-but, had failed to do so.

As the very last fragrant blossoms happily awaited their fate unseen, I cut several, attempting to rinse them, dry them, 'paint' them with an whisked egg white/water mixture-finishing with a gentle sprinkle of sugar on them. Turns out that rinsing under the faucet was too much water for their precious heads, and I didn't have superfine sugar to 'sprinkle' on them-so, pouring regular sugar on them--really seemed to anger them! When they dried they looked like they had just washed up on a beach somewhere..pretty seaweed-ish debris. #Fail

Sugared Pansies or Seaweed?

Back outside this morning-hoping just a few more of these amazing pansies had dared to pop up over night...they are just so magnanimous--there they were, fragrant, fresh and ready for another attempt.

Tiny Pansie Bouquet

Today, I decided to make them Vegan...so, I mixed equal parts water and sugar--brought the mixture to a boil-stirring-allowing it to cool completely. While water and sugar were boiling, I spritzed the pansies with a rose water mist instead of dunking them under running water--they responded very well to this!

Freshly Picked and Misted Pansies

Once the pansies were dry, stems still on for my convenience, I gently dipped them in the cooled sugar water and then gently sprinkled the superfine sugar on them. (I took out my regular sugar and put about a tablespoon full into my coffee grinder....Voila...superfine sugar...the Pansies Love it!!) When they are dry I will gently cut off the stems and see how long they last in an airtight jar -they do lack a little of the sparklier look of those done properly with egg white-but, I am thrilled with how easy this was♥

Sugared Pansies Drying

and still drying...

Within days they shrink up perfectly and are ready for beautifying.
While inhaling their fragrance where they grow-and being completely awe-struck by their bold, beautiful colors,